Braiding-machine attachment.



11. '0. RAHM. M BRAIDING MAGHINE ATTACHMENT APPLICATION FILED MAY 18 1910 Patented Aug. 16, 1910.

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[1 gwuemiot R. G. RAHM.

BBAIDING MACHINE ATTACHMENT. APPLICATION Hum nu 16.1910.

967,670. v Patented Aug.16,1910.

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To all whom it ma concern:

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT C. RABBI, OFWYOMISSING, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB TO TEXTILE MACHINE WORKS, OF WYOMISSING, PENNSYLVANIA, A. CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

BnAxnrNe-MAcHmn Annex-Imam. I

Application filed May 16, 1910. Serial No. 561,542.

Be it known that I, ROBERT C. RAHM, a

citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of the borough of Wyomissing, in the county of Berks and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Braiding-Machine Attachments, of

i which the followlng is a specification.

My invention relates to braiding machines, and particularly to an edging mechanism therefor adapted for braiding flat strips automatically to produce a perfect braid with edgewise bending of the strips at either one or both edges of the fabric so as to form an ornamental rough edge or edges;

and in the latter case for showing one side of the strips only upon each face of the braid. I i

The invention is fully described in connection with the accompanying drawlngs and is specifically pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 is a perspective viewshowing my edging attachment as. it appears above the braiding point of an ordinary machine and operating in the production of a braid having both edges thereof rough-edged. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view showing a mandrel with a coiled edging device there" r on and the shaft for operating said. device;

and Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line 3- 3 of Fig. 2, showing the relative arrangement of the two shafts and mandrels. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the bed plate of the machine showing a carrier -twisting device applied thereto, and Fig. 5 illustrates a bobbin carrier employed in connection therewith. Fig. 6 shows the braid product as rough-edged on one edge only; and Fig. 7 shows an imperfect rough-edged braid.

The braids shown are in each case made up of flat braiding strips such as are employed for millinery braids, and the s ecial bending of which at the ed e of the abric produces the ornamental desired. J

The general construction of braidin ma chines to which my invention is a pli'cable is well known and need not bereferred to further than to state that my edging attachment is adapted to'operate at the socalled braiding-point of the machine, upon converging strips of material 1 ex tending from bobbins mounted in suitable carriers traversed as usual.in the race-way rough-edging off the machine bed-plate; andthat the -vertical shafts 5,5, of my attached mechanism, derive their rotary motion from a suitable horizontal shaft 6 of the machine, and are mounted as indicated in a bearing head 7 carried on a fixed bar 8 thereof. This bearing head 7, which is rigidly fixed to the a ined bearings 9 and 10 as shown, to reversely rotate the parallel vertical shaft 5. The head 7 is not only formed with bearings for the rotary shafts 5 and 5 as described, but serves tocarry depending vertical mandrel rods 15, 15, which are fixed thereto by set screws 16 so that their lower ends 15 are located at the determined braiding oint of the machine. These parallel man rel rods are spaced apart, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 3, to correspond with the width of braid to be produced, and the parallel rotary shafts 5, 5, are properly spaced from the respective mandrels by hearing arms 17 (Fig. 2) fixed to the latter; each of the mandrel ends being adapted to have loosely mounted thereon an edging device for one edge of the forming braid, to which device a rotary motion is imparted by the adjacent rotary shaft 5 or 5.

The edging device 20, as shown, is formed of coiled wire, and loosely fits upon the end portion of the mandrel upon which it is carried and rotated by means of radially projecting pins 21 on the adjacent rotaryconvolution has an enlarged cross-section.

The series of pins 21 are arranged spirally to correspond with the pitch of the edging coil 20 thereby maintaining the point 24 of the coil device in ;a fixed plane. of rotation; and this pitch approximately corresponds with that of the braid; so that each bend of the braiding strips at this edge of the braid will be formed upon the oint 24 andthe enlarged convolution 23 o the rotary coil device, with an edgewi'se bending of the stri as indicated. The effect of this enforce edgewise bending of the stri s at one edge of the fabric, instead of the at-bending of the ordinary turn-over as shown at the other riers having'sparately formedbobbin-hold ing portions 30, each of'which is adapted to ing of the strips at the other side ofthe braid as in the double rough-edged product shown in Fig. 1. v i To avoid the defect indicated in the case of the single rough-edged product shown in Fig. 7, and to produce instead the perfect single rough-edged braid of Fig. 6, other means for neutralizing the described twisting efi'ect of the single edging device 20 there employed, are provided. In such case the neutralizing twlst of the strips is effected just before they reach the edge-braiding point, by imparting a proper rotary movement to each carrier, on its own axis, as it passes around the corresponding terminal circle of the race-way (Fig. 4). This is accomplished, as shown, by employingcarbe moved vertically on the race-way portion 31 of the carrier so as to temporarily disengage it from a locking projection32 on the portion 31, and permit of its being turned upon the latter; and by providing within the terminal race-circle 29 of the-bed plate 4 of the machine, aremovably fixed quadrant-plate 33 having a series of teeth 34 adapted to mesh with a gear wheel 35 provided onthe bobbin-holding portion 30 .of the carrier, when the latter is raised upon the. race-way portion 31 of the carrier by contact with an inclined surface 36 on said quadrant plate. The latter is so'formed and located in the path of each passing carrier,

as to impart arrotary niotion to the latter on its own axis'suflicient to neutralize the twisting effect exerted by the coil device 20 at the rough-edged side of the braid, thus insuring the smooth turning-over of the strips to form the plain edge of the braid, as shown in Fig. 6. The quadrant plate 33 is removed from the bed plate of the machine when the double rou h-edged braid is produced as'the twisting e ect of one edging evice is neutralized by the reverse twisting effect of the other.

As will be readily seenthe engagement of the. opposite edges of the forming braid, by the spaced-apart devices 20, 20, definitely and uniformly fixes the width ofthe braid; and that it also serves as a positive and regular t-ake-ofl for the fabric, the pitch of the rotated coils servin both to uniformly push forward the fabric and to space the strips "or threads which are bent upon them.

What I claim is 1. An edging mechanism for braiding machines comprising a fixed mandrel having its lower end located adjacent to one edgebraiding point of the machine, a parallel rotary shaft, a coiled edging device upon said mandrel end rotatively engaged by said shaft and upon which the successive e gingbends of braiding strips are formed, and means for imparting a" neutralizing twist to the strips at the other edge-braidmg point of the machine.

2. An edging mechanism for braiding ma- I chines comprising a ,pair of fixed mandrels having their lower ends located adjacent to the respective edge-braiding points of the machine, a pair of parallel oppositely rotated shafts, and separate s iral edging devices upon said mandrel ends rotatively engaged by said shafts respectively and adapted to en age and form the opposite edgingbends o the strips.

In testimony whereof, I'afiix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

' Witnesses:

D. M. STEWART, -W. G. STEWART.

ROBERT (J. RAHM. 

